1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body frontal structure which can be applied to a vehicle such as an automobile or the like.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-138322, filed May 7, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, in a vehicle body frontal structure for an automobile or the like, from the point of view of enhancing the collision absorption performance of the bumper, it has been per se known to provide an energy absorbing member which can absorb the energy of collision between the bumper face and the bumper beam. Among such energy absorbing members, one is per se known (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H11-342812) in which a separate member is joined as one unit to the bumper beam, and one which is formed as one unit with the bumper beam (for example, refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-212069). Furthermore, among the latter type, there is a per se known one in which the bumper beam and the energy absorbing member are formed together as one unit using an extruded aluminum material or the like, and moreover, by making the energy absorbing member with a cross sectional shape of pantograph form, its energy absorption efficiency is enhanced, while minimizing the amount of incomplete collapse in the energy absorbing member.
With the above described prior art techniques, when questions of manufacturing efficiency and the like are considered, in practice the former is more usually employed. However, with the former, if an attempt is made to restore the pantograph shaped cross sectional shape to its original condition, this is difficult since its structure is rather complicated; and accordingly, from this type of point of view, there is a demand for a structure in which the amount of incomplete collapse in the energy absorbing member is minimized.